Keep The Barnacles From Eating Away At Your Dreams

There comes a time somewhere along the road to goal achievement that you'll be faced with criticism, push-back or outright attacks from the people. People you know, people you barely know, and sadly enough-your family. It's almost like having a bunch of barnacles who slowly eat away at you.

This is a natural part of the process, especially when where you go, what you do, how you spend your time, what you talk about and who you encircle yourself with changes.

And the bigger your dream, or the more uncommon (or never seen before!) it is, the worse it can be.

Many times, people won't have the courage to tell you things to your face; but sooner or later, they'll slip or you'll catch word and hear things like:

"S/he's high maintenance."

OR

"S/he's boring."

OR sentences that begin with:

"S/he always..."

OR

"S/he never..."

It is during these times you will come to learn a lot about yourself and who your true friends are. Unfortunately, it will expose some major cracks in your relationship, flaws in character, and in differences in visions for the future.

I know you probably have a lot of questions as to how to sort all this out, such as:

What do you do along the way?
How do you distinguish between true friends and "barnacles"?
What do you do when the "barnacles" are your closest friends and family?

Let's dive in with some Coaching tips and distinctions.

#1: Always look to yourself first. EVERY TIME YOU FEEL A LOSS OF POWER, IT CAN USUALLY BE TRACED BACK TO A LACK OF INTEGRITY. Remember, every time you point a finger, there are always 3 fingers pointing back at you. Ask yourself, what did I do to contribute to the conflict? Did I not communicate effectively? Did I break a promise or not honor my word? Did I not choose the right friends to begin with, etc.

#2: Your true friends will CAREFRONT YOU. Your true friends will ask you questions or take the time to learn what's up when they see you doing something different. Your true friends will call you out on your $#!+ when they see you messing up. They'll be patient with your seasons, mood swings (you know you have 'em! lol) And as much as they love you, and want to be with you, TRUE FRIENDS WILL NOT DISTRACT YOU FROM YOUR GOALS OR PRESSURE YOU TO BE A PART OF ANYTHING THAT WILL SABOTAGE YOU OR THE FUTURE YOU ARE CREATING.

#3: Barnacles are opportunistic. They will eat away at your hope and build a village over the site of your dreams if you let them. Barnacles always view you through the harsh lens of what you don't have, why you fall short, and why something won't work. Barnacles are jealous of your courage and drive, and typically push your buttons to get a rise out of you because of their own insecurities.

#4: Ask yourself, "Is this honestly going to matter in 5 years?" You can't stop and throw rocks at each dog that barks at you. Some things are honestly NOT worth spending your precious oxygen molecules on.

#5: Take back your power and remember that you are ALWAYS in the Driver's Seat. You're making the choices. You can stay out late. You can drop $500 on a bar tab. You can eat anything you want. You can sleep in. You can go back and hang out with the "barnacles." We all have choices. Those choices will either bring you closer to or farther away from your goal. At the end of the day, you are responsible for the choices you make. Period.

HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS:

These are all tests. Tests of the strength of your character, your communication skills and your wo/manhood. Mostly, it's a test of how badly you want something. Success won't just drop on your head because you kinda want it. Blessings won't come to you until God knows you're ready to receive them.

When you're kinda bumbling along, and are too comfortable to grow through what you go through, nothing changes.

But when you've "had enough."

When the distractions and saboteurs are no longer "worth it."

When you're "so done with this $#!+."

When you've reached your "f-this" moment...Mountains move and The Universe delivers!

At that point, the barnacles drop away. EVERYONE can see the certainty in your eyes. EVERYONE can hear the confidence in your voice. EVERYONE will know-without a shadow of a doubt that you mean business; and are committed to reaching your goal, come hell or high water.

Focus on WHAT YOU WANT. Do what you gotta do. When your heart is set to what's right and true, Success requires no explanation.

Keep The Barnacles From Eating Away At Your Dreams

There comes a time somewhere along the road to goal achievement that you'll be faced with criticism, push-back or outright attacks from the people. People you know, people you barely know, and sadly enough-your family. It's almost like having a bunch of barnacles who slowly eat away at you.

This is a natural part of the process, especially when where you go, what you do, how you spend your time, what you talk about and who you encircle yourself with changes.

And the bigger your dream, or the more uncommon (or never seen before!) it is, the worse it can be.

Many times, people won't have the courage to tell you things to your face; but sooner or later, they'll slip or you'll catch word and hear things like:

"S/he's high maintenance."

OR

"S/he's boring."

OR sentences that begin with:

"S/he always..."

OR

"S/he never..."

It is during these times you will come to learn a lot about yourself and who your true friends are. Unfortunately, it will expose some major cracks in your relationship, flaws in character, and in differences in visions for the future.

I know you probably have a lot of questions as to how to sort all this out, such as:

What do you do along the way?

How do you distinguish between true friends and "barnacles"?

What do you do when the "barnacles" are your closest friends and family?

Let's dive in with some Coaching tips and distinctions.

#4: Ask yourself, "Is this honestly going to matter in 5 years?" You can't stop and throw rocks at each dog that barks at you. Some things are honestly NOT worth spending your precious oxygen molecules on.

HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS:

These are all tests. Tests of the strength of your character, your communication skills and your wo/manhood. Mostly, it's a test of how badly you want something. Success won't just drop on your head because you kinda want it. Blessings won't come to you until God knows you're ready to receive them.

When you're kinda bumbling along, and are too comfortable to grow through what you go through, nothing changes.

But when you've "had enough."

When the distractions and saboteurs are no longer "worth it."

When you're "so done with this $#!+."

When you've reached your "f-this" moment...Mountains move and The Universe delivers!

At that point, the barnacles drop away. EVERYONE can see the certainty in your eyes. EVERYONE can hear the confidence in your voice. EVERYONE will know-without a shadow of a doubt that you mean business; and are committed to reaching your goal, come hell or high water.

Focus on WHAT YOU WANT. Do what you gotta do. When your heart is set to what's right and true, Success requires no explanation.